Friday, March 18, 2011

Radish leaf pesto with green garlic and pumpkin seeds

When basil is out of season (a short time in southern California, longer in the rest of the world, you poor souls) I look for other greens to turn into pesto. Last weekend I bought some amazing radishes at the farmers' market. "Use the leaves, too," said the grower.

Radish leaves? I tasted one when I got home and it had a nice bite to it - like arugula with more texture. I ground the leaves in the food processor with some young stalks of green garlic, a handful of pepitas (pumpkin seeds), some grated cheese and a slug of olive oil. The pesto emerged bright green and held onto its color for days in the refrigerator. And the taste - assertive, peppery, and completely mysterious.

I spread the pesto on fresh mozzarella grilled cheese sandwiches, mixed it with goat cheese to pipe into little cucumber cups, served it on pasta, and ate a whole lot of it on baguette slices straight up. Divine, every time. And the best thing about radish leaf pesto: You can make it all year long.

Wash the radish leaves well to remove any grit. Place the leaves, green garlic, pumpkin seeds, grated cheese, lemon juice and olive oil in the food processor and whizz until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

I recently heard you could use the radish leaves but still haven't tried it. I love beet greens though. A few weeks ago I made arugula walnut pesto for the first time. I ended up adding pine nuts since I didn't think the walnuts had enough of a kick. Ok, TMI, but your pesto looks lovely and very nice pic!

Erika, again you have me obsessing over green garlic! I've even researched growing it myself. This dish looks amazing, but until I can find green garlic, I think I might have to substitute something else.